Get ready to join Sheffield’s big Festival of Debate

The Festival of Debate will return to the city for its fifth year next month, bringing with it over 90 different public events.

The festival – which will run from April 19 to June 1 – has grown into the biggest festival of its kind in the UK since it launched in 2015, and is a non-partisan city-wide festival exploring, debating and discussing the key political and social issues of our time. Following the great success of the 2018 festival – which saw appearances from Yanis Varoufakis, Ed Miliband and Reni Eddo-Lodge – the 2019 programme features acclaimed podcaster The Guilty Feminist, environmental activists George Monbiot and George Marshall, broadcaster Afua Hirsch, radio presenter James O’Brien, economist Paul Mason and famed poet Roger McGough.

There will also be a wide range of smaller events delivered in association with over 60 partner organisations, from talks, panel discussions and workshops to film screenings, spoken word and stand-up comedy, all exploring ideas around society and politics. For the first time the festival will also include three ‘hub days’ – comprised of a number of smaller sessions exploring three of this year’s key strands - Our Democracy, Our Planet and Living Together.